Mail-receptacle.



PATENTED FEB. 14, 1905.

M. S. FIELD.

MAIL REOEPTAGLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1904.

UNITED STATES Patented February 14, 1905.

MARC'ELLUS S. FIELD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MAIL-RECEPTACLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,229, dated February 14, 1905.

Application filed April 29, 1904. Serial No. 205,516.

To all urim'nt it nmy concern.-

Be it known that I, MARoELLUs S. FIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Mail-Receptacles, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

Most modern office-buildings are provided with letter-drops or openings in the doors of the oflices, so that the postman can deliver the mail to the occupants of the building by merely slipping it through the letter-drops or opening in the doors. In the best office-Imildings objection is raised to fastening to the inside of the door receptacles for catching mail, because of the fact that in thus attaching receptacles to the door the latter will become marred. As a result no mail-receptacles are used and the mail which is deposited through the letter-drop falls to the floor. where it is very likely to become soiled and from which it has to be picked up.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a novel form of mail-receptacle which can be attached to the door without marring the latter in any way, as would be the case if holes were bored in exposed portions of the door or brackets were secured to the door.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mail-receptacle of this class which can be easily removed from the door, if desired, and thus can be used as a receptacle to carry the mail to the desk or desks. where it is to be distributed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one form of my receptacle applied to the door, a portion of the door only being shown. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a portion of the door, showing my mail-receptacle applied thereto, and Fig. 3 is a section on the line .r 4r, Fig. 2.

ln the drawings, 3 designates a door having an opening I cut therein to form a letter-drop. Usually these openings are faced on the inside of the door with a finishing-plate 5 and on the outside of the door with another finishingplate 6, which is sometimes provided with a flap 7. These finishing-plates, however, form I no part of my invention, which relates to a mail-receptacle and means for attaching said mail-receptacle to the door in such a way that the exposed portions of the door will not be marred in the slightest degree. Various ways of accomplishing this object may be resorted to without departing from my invention. In the form of my invention herein shown the mail-receptacle comprises a frame 8, from which is suspended a mail-receiving portion 9, preferably of reticulated material, such as netting, said frame having rising from one side one or more arms or members 10, which are bent to form holding-hooks ll, adapted to enter holding-sockets 12, which are formed in the bottom of the opening I of the letterdrop.

I prefer to make the frame 8 from a piece of wire which is bent to )artially inclose the mouth of the receptacle and has its ends turned upwardly and bent to form the hooks 1L above described and a connecting link or member 13, which ties together the two upwardly-extending arms 10. Said connecting member 13 is herein shown as having its ends l-i looped about the upwardly-extending arms 10 and covered with a suitable cushion or padding material to, which prevents any injury to or marring of the door.

A receptacle such as above described can be applied to any door having a letter-drop by simply boring holes 12 in the bottom of the opening in the door, which are properly spaced to receive the holding-hooks ll of the receptacle. \Yhen the receptacle is in place, the holding-hooks enter the sockets 12, which are entirely within the material of the door, and the cushioned or padded portion of the connecting member lies against the inside of the door, as seen in Fig. 3, thus preventing the receptacle from marring the door in any way.

The angular position of the frame 8 may be adjusted by raising or lowering the connecting member 13 upon the arms 10. For instance, if the connecting member is at the lower end of the arms the frame 8 will stand substantially level, as shown; but it' said connecting member is lifted into the dotted-line position, Fig. 2, the result will be to throw the outer edge of the frame 8 upwardly. It is sometimes desirable to give the frame 8 this position in order to prevent the mail entering the slot I from being projected clear over the receptacle.

I prefer the reticulated receptacle, because it is possible for the occupant of the room to observe at any time whether there is any mail in the receptacle or not. My invention, however, Would not be departed from if a receptacle of some other character were employed.

While I prefer the construction herein shown, since it does not involve any special construction of facing-plate 5 and since the form of receptacle is one Which can be applied to any door Without marring the same, yet I Wish it understood that my invention is not limited to this particular arrangement, but is intended to cover any equivalent construction. It will be obvious, therefore, that very many changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be resorted to Without dedrop opening, combined with a mail-recepta= cle having a holding-hook to enter said socket.

2. In a device of the class described, a door or partition having a letter-drop opening therethrough, and also having one or more holding-sockets opening into said letter-drop opening, combined with a reticulated mail-receptacle having one or more holding-arms shaped to enter said holding-sockets.

3. A mail-receptacle comprising a frame formed of a length of Wire bent to the required shape, the ends of said Wire being bent upwardly from one side of the frame to form holding-hooks, a connecting-link tying together said upwardly-bent portions of Wire, and a mail-receiving member depending from said frame.

4. A mail-receptacle comprising a Wire bent 

